Category: Feminism and Christianity

Feminism and Christianity, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures4 Comments

Rally the Equality Troops: We have a Rhetorical Battle to Fight

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“Gender equality is just twisting and re-interpreting thousands of years of God-defined gender roles because you don’t agree with them.”  I was recently told this by a good, God-fearing individual when my husband and I shared the Wesleyan tradition of gender equality. How do you deal with people who refuse to acknowledge that male-headship is not the only Biblical interpretation of gender roles? As an undergraduate I was very confrontational about my belief in gender equality. As editor of the university newspaper I got hate mail from other students on campus who didn’t appreciate my belief in equality or my … Continue reading Rally the Equality Troops: We have a Rhetorical Battle to Fight

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Women Still Struggle to Gain Acceptance in Ministry

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When I tell other academics that I’m studying the rhetoric of the early Free Methodist movement I get responses such as “Free Methodists? What is a Free Methodist?” or “I’ve never even seen a Free Methodist Church.” I’ll grant that the denomination is small. Currently in North America the Free Methodist Denomination (as of 2007) estimates membership at 74,000, and worldwide there are about 730,000 members.  Yet, this relatively small denomination has a rich history that has been largely unexplored by historians and rhetoricians outside the denomination. I am thrilled that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the denomination’s … Continue reading Women Still Struggle to Gain Acceptance in Ministry

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Emma Ray and Eliza Suggs Writing and Wesleyan Rhetoric

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Free Methodist founder B.T. Roberts felt strongly that the antebellum Methodist Episcopal Church had forgotten the vision of John Wesley. Thus, it is not surprising that the early Free Methodist publications, including Roberts own magazine The Earnest Christian, strongly resembled Wesley’s Arminian Magazine.  In fact, Methodist conversion narratives changed little from the time of Wesley in the 18th century to the narratives of Suggs and Ray in the early 20th century.  In the 18th century preachers would receive letters from individuals they had converted and these letters were often published to encourage conversion and the faithful (Hindmarsh, 2008). The rise … Continue reading Emma Ray and Eliza Suggs Writing and Wesleyan Rhetoric

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Sunshine in My Soul: African-American Women’s contributions to Free Methodism

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This is part one of a series based on the rhetorical contributions of two 19th through early 20th century women I have written about previously in the fall. Check out the website section on their poetry. This first article focuses on the importance of studying the lives of early African-American women and the subsequent sections will focus on their specific contributions to the temperance movement and work as lay leaders in the Free Methodist Church. In the years prior to the Civil War the Methodist Episcopal (ME) was torn apart over the issue of slavery. Though the Methodist Church in … Continue reading Sunshine in My Soul: African-American Women’s contributions to Free Methodism

Feminism and Christianity, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures1 Comment

John Wesley’s Arminian Magazine and Lay-Women’s Conversion Narratives

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I’m returning to some research that I was writing about earlier in the year – the involvement of Free Methodist women in the temperance movement. My husband has his own blog where the article below is also posted. While his research focuses mostly on the 18th century and mine on the 19th and 20th century, I thought this article does a great job setting up how conversion narratives can be used to promote a particular Christian interpretation in a publication. John Wesley used conversion narrative to fuel on the Methodist movement, and in the last 19th century the Free Methodists … Continue reading John Wesley’s Arminian Magazine and Lay-Women’s Conversion Narratives

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Benjamin’s “Messianic Moments” and Women’s Church History

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If we examine how history has been constructed, specifically church history, the contributions of women are often overlooked.  Within the Free Methodist denomination we have several seminary theses and unpublis hed papers about the history of women in ministry, but nothing published (Synder’s Populist Saints is the only exception). So, the need to reveal these forgotten moments of women’s history in the church is a pressing concern of mine. Feminist rhetorical historians are beginning to draw attention to some of these forgotten moments of women’s history. It is important the rhetorical contribution, particularly the rhetorical contributions of women’s magazine articles, … Continue reading Benjamin’s “Messianic Moments” and Women’s Church History

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History is More than Just Remembering Facts: It’s a Call to Action and Reform

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The Free Methodist Denomination has a long history of supporting women in ministry. However, the battle for official ordination went on almost a 100 years. It began in 1860 when the denomination was founded. B.T. Roberts, one of the main founders, decided for the health of the fledgling denomination not to pursue ordaining women at the same time the denomination was forming. So, the debate raged on at general conferences and in the denominational magazine The Free Methodist (later to become Light and Life magazine) until 1974 when women were officially approved for ordination. The commitment of women in the … Continue reading History is More than Just Remembering Facts: It’s a Call to Action and Reform

African-American Women, Feminism and Christianity, Free MethodismLeave a comment

Eliza Sugg’s Use of Poetry for the Temperance Cause

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While Eliza Suggs and Emma Ray both were African-American women at the turn of the 20th century their narratives are very different. Ray focuses on her urban ministry with her husband and her involvement in the Colored Women’s Christian Temperance Union. While her faith does play a very large role in her autobiography, you don’t see the strong ties to preaching and speaking at revivals that Eliza notes in her narratives. What seemed to come easily to Eliza (speaking up at revival meetings and testifying) did not come easily to Ray. Yet, the place where their narratives intertwine the most … Continue reading Eliza Sugg’s Use of Poetry for the Temperance Cause

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Small in Stature but Big in Faith: The Story of Eliza Suggs Part 1

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There are only two autobiographies written by 19th century African- American women in the Free Methodist Denomination. While this could be viewed as another example of segregation in Christian culture, I prefer to view the narratives of Emma Ray and Eliza Suggs as examples of women who bridged racial and gender barriers to actively engage in their chosen denomination. I’ve already written in detail about Emma Ray’s narrative, which is the more overlooked narrative of the two, but I would like to spend a few posts talking about Eliza Suggs influence. Suggs has received more attention from historians within the … Continue reading Small in Stature but Big in Faith: The Story of Eliza Suggs Part 1

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Women and Temperance Part 2

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The temperance movement, while often viewed as a failure because of the repeal of the probation, was in fact a huge success in terms of social movements.  The temperance movement was one of the most popular, successful and long lasting social movements in American history (Dannenbaum, 2001). This was in large part due to the commitment and conviction of religious women who spent decades fighting against alcohol consumption.  Many women who were involved in the temperance movement also become involved in the women’s suffrage movement because they realized the lack of voice they had in national issues.  Thus, by organizing … Continue reading Women and Temperance Part 2